Controlling system for conveying means.



A. C. PHILPOTT.

CONTROLLING SYSTEM FOR CONVEYING MEANS.

APPLICATION FILED JAN- 8, 1914.

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THE COLUMBIA PLANOGRAPH CD, WASHINGTON, n. c.

ADDISON Cl PHIL'POT-T, BUCYRUS, OHIOI CONTROLLING SYSTEM FOR confirms-MEANS.

Application filed January 8, 1914.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, ADDISON C. PHILroT'r, a citizen of the United States, residing at B ucyrus, Crawford county, and State. of Ohio, have invented and discovered certain new and useful. Improvements in Controlling: Systems for Conveying Means, of

which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to car controlling system for railways or other conveying means.

The objects of the invention areto automatically propel. cars-or other carriers be tween a point. of collection. and. a. point of delivery, to. providefor such travel of the carriers on a single track, to effect the automatic shifting of oppositely moving carriersto sidings in order to enable. the carriers to pass one another, to provide a system adapt ed. to carry out these objects which willdispense with. individual motormen for the cars and also with the necessity of providing a special operator to control the system and which shall bev inexpensive in installation and simple in construction and operation.

With these objects and others in view, my invention is embodied in. preferable form in the arrangement and construction hereinafter described and illustrated in theaccompanying drawings r In these drawings, Figure 1" is a diagrammatic plan view of a preferred svstem of electric propulsionv and control. and Fig. 2 an enlarged plan view. of. a carrier, partly diagrammatic.

My invention is particularly applicable in its use to the. transportation of material from a bed or mine to a plant where the material is to be utilized, such for instance,

as clay pits orminesfrom which it is desired to convey the clay to the clay working or brick plant, although it is capable ofap-- plication to many other uses, where it is desirable to control the propulsion, stoppage,

shiftingand. re-starting of cars.

Referring. to the drawings, 1 indicates that portionofa main track which is adjacent to a terminal where the load isto be taken on and from whence. it is to be transported to a point of delivery. The cars are adapted to be propelled along this track in the direction ofthe arrow. The propulsive power is provided by an electric current obtained preferably from a third rail 2, which leads to a suitable source of electrical energy. This track is provided with a switch 3 which has. an auto- 7 Specification of Letters'Patenti Patented Mar; 7, 19161 SeriaINo. 811,114.

matic spring point permitting the cars totpass freely forward. over the switch without being deflected thereby when moving inthe'di rectionofthe arrow. This switch communicates' with the far entrance of a siding 4c and. a. car isadapted tomove along thesidingin the opposite direction to that indicated bythe' arrow.

Inter-posed in themain lineis a control.

rail. section 6, which is insulated from the adjoining rails .of the main track for the purpose of breaking the propulsive current.

through the motor ofthe car and thus st pping the car until the circuit isagain estab lished through'the, motor and control rail by a local circuit. Extending alongside the;

main: track. on the. side. opposite to that on which the thirdrail isv placed, is a fixedcontactmember 7, w-itlrwhich1is adapted to make. contact a' sliding. shoe 8 carried by thecar 9, when the car has-moved to a'point.

opposite said contact member. This car 9 is provided with a motor 10, a self-starter or automatic controlllng'means 11. and a.

shoe 12, which slides-on the third rail. The car 1s unprovided wlt-h a motorman and is adapted. to be started throwing in the. main. circuit at the terminal at the point of.

collection or theterminal at the point of. de-

livery. The terminalswitch at each end for;- throwing on the main. line current isindicated at 1.3 and this switch: is adapted to be operated by one of the workmen ateither of the terminals, so that the car may be initially started from the point of collection.

and stoppedv at the point of delivery by. a workman at the latter point, all without the necessity of amotorman onthe car or a special operator in control of the system. The switch 13. at each end serves to bridge the space. between. a normally deadterniinal rail section and the main line.

The contact member 7 is electrically connected by a line ld'with a relav 15, which relay is also in circuit through line 16 with the third rail.

The relay is also connected through wires 17 and '18 and motor and 7 third rail with a magnet 19 preferably of the solenoid type to. which the relay is adapted to transmit energy and which solenoid controlsa double acting switch, the swinging blade 20 of which switch is electrically connected by wire 21 to the third rail and the twofixed contact members 22 and 23 of which switch are connected by wires 22 and 23 to the control rail section 6 of the main line and a control rail section 24 of the siding 4. The switch is made double acting by means of a spring 25, which is connected to an arm projecting from the core of the solenoid and pivoted to the latter, and which arm is provided with notches 26 and 27 adapted to engage pins 28 and 29 mounted on a cross arm 30 of the switch blade, whereby after the blade has been inoved in one direction by the engagement therewith of one of the notches of the arms and the armature is released by the breaking of the circuit, the spring will act to tilt the arm 26 so as to carry the opposite notch over into engagement with its corresponding pin in position to move the switch blade in the opposite direction when the solenoid is again energized. This arm 26 is also provided with notches 30, in which the pins are adapted to fit when the arm is pulled down by the energization of the solenoid. The relay circuit is completed by the wire 31, which connects the contact 7 with a contact member 32 extending alongside the siding track 4.

The siding communicates by means of a switch 33 with the main track at a pointbetween the place of delivery and the control rail section 6 of the main track. This switch is of such a character as to cause a car propelled from the point of delivery toward the point of collection to be deflected on to the siding. V

The operation of the system is as follows: A car on the main track having been loaded at the terminal adjacent the track portion 1, the main line current is thrown on to the third rail by means of the switch 13 at said terminal and the current passing through the self-starter and motor, the car will be propelled in the direction of the arrow. Upon reaching the contact member 7,

a. circuit will be established through the relay'and its local circuit and the solenoid will be energized, thus moving the switch blade away from the contact member 22 and throwing it into engagement with the con-. tact member 23, whereby the controlling rail section 6 of the third rail'for the main line will be cut out of circuit through the interruption of the local circuit through the switch. At the same time the dead rail section 32 of the siding third rail will be thrown into circuit with the third rail through the switch and the car. As the loaded car reaches the section 6, it will be stopped, owing to the interruption of the circuit by means of the breaking of the local circuit through the said section, and an operating circuit can only be reestablished in the main line by a car on the siding. Assuming that another car has been started from the point of delivery back toward the point of collection, it will pass from the main line by the switch 33 into the near entrance of the siding and if no car has passed on the main track from the point of collection sufliciently far to engage with the contact member 7, then the car on the siding will be stopped by the rail control section 24', until a circuit has been established through said latter section by the contact of the car on the main track with the contact member 7, whereupon the siding car will be restarted and will move along the siding until it establishes electrical circuit through the contact member 32 and thereupon the current will be transmitted through the relay and the solenoid again energized so as to shift the switch and break the circuit, through the section 32 of the siding third rail and establish it through the section 6 of the main third rail, whereupon the car on the siding will move forward over the switch to the point of collection on the main track while the other car will move forward on the main track to the point of delivery. lVhen the loaded car reaches the point of delivery, the current may be cut off by a switch at that terminal. As there is current from the control sections through the switchonly when a car is on one of such sections and since the contact members 7 and 32 are engaged by the shoe of the car only either before or after this car passes the respective control rails, there is no current from the third rail to the switch at the time of opening the same and hence arcing is prevented. It is obvious that the cars may be started at any time since one cannot move forward from the point of collection to the point of delivery until an oppositely moving car has passed along the siding. I

Having thus described my invention, what I claim is 1. In an electric controlling system for conveying means, in combination with a main track, a siding having its opposite ends in communication with the main track be tween the terminals of the'latter, a main track circuit, a siding track circuit self propelled carriers adapted to travel on said track and siding, and carrying self-starting means controlled by the electric circuits, switches for controlling said starting means through the main circuit, said switches located at the terminals of the main track only, means operated by a carrier on the main track for breaking the circuit through the main track and establishing the side track circuit and means operated by a carrier on the side track for establishing the main track circuit and breaking the side track circuit.

2. In an electric controlling system for conveying means, in combination with a main track and its circuit, a siding and its circuit; said siding having communication at both ends with said main track and having fixed open connections at both ends permitting the automatic switching of a car erated by the carrier for establishing a cirtraveling in one direction from the main cuit through the relay to operate the same. track to the siding, a carrier receiving its In Witness whereof, I have hereunto set propulsive power from the main circuit, myhand and seal at Indianapolis, Marion 5 dead rail sections in said main track and county, Indiana, this third day of January, 15

siding, a local circuit including a solenoid, a A. D. nineteen hundred and fourteen.

switch, operated by said solenoid for con- ADDISON C. PHILPOTT. [Ls] trolling the energization of said dead rail Witnesses: sections, a relay for controlling the opera- A. C. RICE,

1:: tion of said solenoid and contact means op- H. P. DOOLITTLE.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. 0. 

